Survey of the Evolution of Royal Monuments Inscription from the Late Ilkhani to Early Safavid Period in the Paintings of Three Prominent Manuscripts of Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh

Since the creation of Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh, this work has attracted the attention of kings and Authorities and in different periods, by their command, the valuable manuscripts of that, have been made by the most prominent artists of every period. In the history of Iranian painting, three manuscripts of the Shahnameh have special significance: The Great Mongol Shahnameh (Demot) related to the late Ilkhani era, Baysonghor Shahnameh belonging to the Timurid period and Shahnameh of Shah Tahmasp (Houghton) related to the early Safavid period. Regarding the subject of the stories, a number of pictures of all three manuscripts have images of royal buildings, that the painters have made great efforts and precision in accurately drawing structure of their buildings and decorations, especially tiles. The buildings have inscriptions that each reminds the inscriptions of their periods. The present research tries to answer these questions: What are the features of the inscriptions depicted in each of the three manuscripts, in terms of the type and color of the line, location, color and Background decorations? What changes have occurred in the course of a period to the next? Regarding the importance of images in archaeological research, the main purpose of the present research is survey of the evolution and comparison of the Inscription of royal monuments from the late Ilkhani to early Safavids based on the images of three manuscripts of Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh (the great Mongol Shahnameh, Baysonghor Shahnameh and Shahnameh of Shah Tahmasp). The Information is collected in the library and field method and the research method is descriptive- comparative and analytical. The findings of the research show that the building’s Inscription During the late Ilkhani to the early Safavid period is more sophisticated and more diverse in terms of script, colors and decorative motifs. Considering that there are no significant examples of the ceremonial and royal monuments of the late Ilkhani to the early Safavid period, investigating the images of these three manuscripts can provide researchers with useful information about the design, color and location of the inscriptions.
Keywords: Painting, Inscription, Great Mongol Shahnameh, Baysonghri Shahnameh, Shahnameh of Shah Tahmasp.
 
Introduction
With the advent of Islam and given the considerations regarding the use of human and animal motifs, the script became more important than ever and it became a good alternative to it. The script was not only one of the main factors in the transmission of political and religious messages in buildings, but also has an aesthetic function. Perhaps this is why it is possible to find less of Islamic building that is lacking in inscription. Paintings are the results of the visual experiences of painters and reflect the architectural features of each period. Many of the magnificent and luxurious buildings have been destroyed over time, and no information is available from them except the low and often vague descriptions that some historians and tourists have mentioned in their works. The present research tries to emphasize that the researchers, in their study of the arts and architecture of various periods based on the images, can overcome the scarcity or lack of resources, and the images of these manuscripts, in addition to the artistic value, in identifying the structure and decorations of the royal monuments that have been destroyed over time, as reliable source, they are worthy of attention. In the history of Iranian painting, three manuscripts of Shahnameh are important: the Great Mongol Shahnameh (Demot) from the late Ilkhani era, Baysonghor Shahnameh belonging to the Timurid period and the Shahnameh of Shah Tahmasp (Houghton) related to the early Safavid period. A number of pictures of all three manuscripts have pictures of royal buildings, and Painters have worked hard on designing their structures and decorations, especially tiles. The main purpose of this research is survey of the evolution and comparison of the Inscription of royal monuments from the late Ilkhani to early Safavids based on the pictures of these three manuscripts of Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh. The present research seeks to answer these questions: What are the features of the inscriptions depicted in all three manuscripts in terms of the type and color of the script, location, color and background decorations? And what developments in the inscriptions of buildings have come from a period to the next? So far, in order to investigate the evolution of the medieval or later Islamic inscriptions, based on the existing images of these centuries, no research has been done; therefore, this research can be used to prove the importance of images in the study of architecture and decorations of buildings of each period.
 
Identified Traces
The great Mongol Shahnameh belongs to the late Ilkhani era. In a number of paintings of this Manuscript, pictures of ceremonial and palatial buildings are depicted that have a simple structure and limited levels of them are decorated with azure tile with plant, geometric and Inscription motifs. Inscriptions of monuments have been written with white and golden Kufic script on the azure background without decoration, Installed in the front of the buildings and entrances. Baysonghori Shahnameh is the masterpiece of the Herat School painting. Of the 22 images of this Manuscript, in 6 images depict royal monuments with palace and castle functions, and a wide range of these buildings are decorated with azure tile. The main inscriptions of the buildings that have political and religious content, have been written with white Tholth script on the azure background and embellished with golden arabesque motifs and installed in the front of the buildings, the edges of the walls and the forehead of the porch. The Kufic inscriptions cover fewer levels and have benedictory content, are installed at the front of the entrance and have been written with white color on azure background covered with golden arabesque motifs. Shahnameh of Shah Tahmasp is the masterpiece of the Safavid Tabriz School. About in one fifth of the paintings of this Manuscript, the buildings that often palaces, and in some cases castles, are depicted. The design of the inscriptions of the buildings has a considerable variation.The main inscriptions have been written with white and golden tholth script, Installed in the front of the porches and the entrances and edges of the fortress walls. Tholth inscriptions have simple background and sometimes are decorated with arabesque and khataei motifs. One of the important features of the inscriptions of the monuments of this manuscript is the use of Persian language and Nastaliq script. These inscriptions have fewer levels and are white and golden, and are used in the foreheads of the porches and entrances and inside the porches.
 
Conclusion
By examining the inscriptions on the paintings in these three manuscripts, it can be said that the simple appearance of the Kofic inscriptions in the monuments of the Ilkhani era during the Timurid period become more decorative and beautiful. The application of golden arabesque designs is a step to make the azure background look better and keep them from monotonous. On the other hand, the Kofic inscriptions, which were considered the main inscriptions of the royal monuments during the Mongol period, have been replaced by Tholth inscriptions in the Timurid period. The original inscription of the early Safavid royal monuments, as in the previous period, has been written white and it is often installed on front of the porch. The obsolete Kofic inscriptions, the use of inscriptions with Persian text and the Nastaliq line, the use of decorative motifs in the background of inscriptions and the use of inscriptions in front of the porch are new features that used in the inscriptions of the early Safavid royal monuments. Therefore, the inscriptions of the monuments from the period of the Ilkhani to the early Safavid era have become more refined in terms of the type of pen, color and background decorations. Due to the destruction of many ceremonial and royal monuments of these three periods, the images of these three manuscripts of the Shahnameh, as valuable documentary evidence, reveal the evolution of inscriptions of the royal monuments from the late Ilkhani to the early Safavid period.